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RANKIN INLET/YELLOWKNIFE
An unsubstantiated accusation of inappropriate touching of female players marred the Rankin Inlet Rock bantam hockey team's trip to a house league tournament in Yellowknife earlier this month.

The Rock dropped the championship game in a shootout to Yellowknife's Hak's Autobody, after going the entire tournament without allowing a goal against.

Head coach Darrin Nichol said he won't make any excuses for Rankin losing the final, or take anything away from a super performance by the Yellowknife goaltender.

But, he said, the team didn't play its style of hockey in the final, after serious accusations against his players prevented him from coaching as effectively as he would have liked.

"The experience was just bizarre," said Nichol.

"I had players accused of touching the bums of female players (during the handshakes after a game) and calling them bad names on the ice.

"I had a referee warn me that if my players didn't keep their hands off the girls, they weren't going to tolerate it and we'd be thrown out.

"We were the least penalized team and I still had parents coming up and calling our players a bunch of bullies."

Nichol said he was shocked when two women asked to speak with him, and then accused some of his players for touching female players inappropriately.

He said he was even told before the final game the Yellowknife team might forfeit if the Rankin players didn't lay-off the bodychecking.

"We outplayed that team in every way you can in the last game, but their goalie played incredible, which shows anything can happen in hockey.

"I feel very bad about the last game because I let my players down by telling them to tone it down.

"I didn't tell the players about the accusations being made about them.

"I took part in every end-of-game handshake and I never saw anything resembling inappropriate behaviour, so, as far as I'm concerned, it never happened."

Nichol said it was also insinuated that he brought a stacked team to a house league tournament.

He said the kids who went to Yellowknife are the only ones in the Rankin bantam program.

"The only one who didn't go was actually our star player, because he was injured.

"We didn't leave any weaker players behind. We didn't leave any players behind, period!"

Nichol said Rankin players aren't angels, but the inappropriate touching allegation was unwarranted.

He said it's upsetting when someone accuses your players of such actions.

"I was told there was a formal complaint filed against the Rankin team and I dealt with it as best I could.

"It was supposed to have happened during a handshake, but I didn't see it.

"In fact, I never spoke to one person who said they actually saw any of it.

"Supposedly, a female player said it happened and, the next thing I know, I'm being told a formal complaint had been made."

But a Yellowknife minor hockey official told Kivalliq News he knows of no formal complaint being filed.

Nichol said he couldn't believe an official working the final would come and repeat rumours he'd heard about the Rankin players 10 minutes before the game began.

He said it was hard to swallow when two Yellowknife coaches thanked him for changing Rankin's game in the final, and saying they knew Rankin had the better team.

"There was one point when I considered not letting our players shake hands.

"But if you win 10-0 and don't shake hands, you're unsportsmanlike and rude.

"We couldn't win no matter what action I took."

Hockey North Branch president Gary Vivian said any complaint filed against a team should be handled immediately by a discipline committee, and include both coaches of the teams involved.

He said Nichol should never have been approached and accused of having players inappropriately touching female players.

"This is a very serious accusation that should go directly to an organizing committee and its discipline chair and, if there's supporting evidence, the player or players should be removed from the tournament," said Vivian.

"This isn't something that should ever be said without solid evidence.

"If nobody has been identified as the player touched, or nobody has been identified as the player doing the touching, there can be no accusation.

"You can't use hearsay to punish or intimidate anybody and that's a fact."

For Yellowknife minor hockey's response, please see page 10.

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